A sex offender who molested a Chula Vista boy in 1987 has petitioned a court for release from a state mental hospital after he voluntarily underwent surgical removal of his testicles.

Allen Louis Fields, now 57, has served the 25-year prison term that he received in 1988 and is currently in Coalinga State Hospital where authorities have recommended his release.

A public hearing has been set for July 23 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Margie Woods and the Department of State Hospitals has recommended Fields be released to live in Campo. Public testimony will be taken from anyone who is in support or opposition.

“Petitioner had an orchiectomy in 2003 which reportedly has diminished his libido and caused him to no longer have deviant sexual drives or fantasies,” wrote Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick in a court document.

Medical dictionaries state an orchiectomy is surgical removal of testicles, otherwise known as castration. California is one of four states that allows offenders in custody to request this type of surgery to control sex drive.

The Department of State Hospitals has recommended other registered sex offenders to be released in Campo as well as other remote areas. A regular number of East County residents often attends every such hearing regardless of who is being considered.

Patrick also wrote that Fields has various health problems and he uses a wheelchair or cane. If a judge releases Fields, he would be living with at least one or more state security guards.

Court records say Fields pleaded no contest to two counts of child molestation of the 10-year-old Chula Vista boy on Jan. 11, 1988. Fields also pleaded guilty to committing two counts of lewd acts upon the boy’s friend, who was also 10 years old.

At his sentencing, Fields apologized to both boys. Fields worked for a Mission Valley department store at the time and the Chula Vista boy was the son of a co-worker. He socialized with the boy’s father, and the boy was molested repeatedly in Fields’ trailer in San Diego, according to court records.

After Fields’ arrest in 1987, he was charged with 92 counts of child molestation. He was diagnosed as a pedophile.This was not Fields’ first offense. He was charged in 1983 with molesting two 13-year-old boys when he lived in Orange County. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Before that, Fields served five years as a U.S. Marine until he was discharged.

A judge classified Fields as a sexually violent predator in 2000, allowing the state to keep convicted child molesters in custody in state hospitals after they complete their prison sentences.